


Void Given Soul

by Heroman3003



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Ending, Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Canon, Second Chances, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-13
Updated: 2019-12-13
Packaged: 2020-12-14 08:48:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21013019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Heroman3003/pseuds/Heroman3003
Summary: The Knight is a mindless, willles vessel, created for singular purpose.But what if along its journey it stopped being so? And only realized it after the said purpose was acomplished in way not even imagined by the Pale King?What will Ghost do now, as God of Gods and Lord of Shades... When the only thing they really want is to find out what its like to be a real person?[Story is currently frozen indefinitely. I may return to it one day, but for now it's on pause.]





	1. Awakening

** _No mind to think_ **

Pantheon of Hallownest. All of the ‘gods’, powerful beings of Hallownest whose energies the Godtuner detected, ready to fight whatever challenger comes their way… All in their ultimate prime. Against one being. One vessel. One nameless, as all vessels should be, Knight. And they defeated them all. And at the peak of pantheon, is their goal. Not the goal of the pantheon or even entering the Godhome… The goal of their whole existence. It did not matter how or why to achieve it… It just had to be.

** _No will to break_ **

Radiance. Infection. Light. Dreams. Higher being. At its absolute peak. This was not the Radiance contained within the failed vessel, Hollow Knight. This was something much stronger. Godseekers, true to their nature, found what they were looking for. Being that they can worship and that desires all that worship. The being that invaded every mind within its reach and consumed them with its rage. Only without dreams could one escape Radiance. And empty being such as The Knight, crafted with the very purpose of resisting its influences was the perfect counter.

** _No voice to cry suffering_ **

Slash. Clink. The Pure Nail swung at the being beyond comprehension, and its pure blades of light flew back at the vessel. One struck, but only the recoil of the strike was seen. No flinches with its void-made body. No winces on empty mask. Only fighting. Vessels were made to stop Radiance. Intent was to trap it inside truly empty creature, and attempt at that was made, but the Hollow Knight ended up not being truly empty. And this Knight still had its purpose instilled. It was working towards it. But not in way planned. Radiance did not just have to be contained. It could be truly destroyed.

** _Born of God and Void_ **

Black drips were forming in the Knight’s shell. It wouldn’t be able to handle much more strikes, so they used a small window of opportunity to Focus. Channeling Soul gathered within into purpose of their form to mend it. And back to the dance between blades of light and strikes against the higher being. Channeling felt easier to it than ever before. The Void Heart within it made mending its form a simpler task. The void itself was bending to the goals of the vessel. And it was bubbling, rising from below and up to the top of the Pantheon, to the two locked in the combat. It was following the purpose of its new master.

** _Void Given Form_ **

At long last the peak is reached. Radiance cannot flee any higher, only try and trap The Knight at the peak, while trying to incinerate it with its brilliance. But Shade Cloak, its second nature at this point, always covered it in safety of darkness. Strike after strike, the being weakens… Until perfect opportunity presents itself. Radiance is weakened, barely able to gather for another strike. And as it does, The Knight ceases to be. The void within them unleashed, cloak consumed from within and mask shattering to pieces from within, it dives into the darkness below… And something entirely different rises from it.

** _Void Given Focus_ **

The Void Creature rises, holding the higher being firm. Darkness starts filling Godhome, all light created by mind of the Godseeker slowly fading, till Radiance is the only source of it… And that source thrashing in grip of the void. Now the purpose is so close… And Void does not hesitate. Radiance is clawed and slashed, sliced and torn, tendrils and claws and pure darkness all ripping into it… In what would feel like endless agony, until with a last burst of bright light… She is gone. Snuffed out and consumed by endless darkness. Lord of Shades, however, despite its core purpose fulfilled… Does not stop. Finally turning its attention to the Godseeker, who stands upon their pedestal in awe… And as the void tendrils start wrapping around, as the Godhome starts getting swallowed up by the void, none of the Godseekers run or fight… But simply raise their heads and hum… Welcoming the God of Gods and its will. Even if its only desire is to consume them all… And first of them all shall be the prime Godseeker herself, as giant shape of void draws closer… After that, once Godhome is gone, the rest of the world shall follow, and be consumed by the Void—

** _Not bug_ **

It suddenly ceases. The Godseeker ceases her humming for a moment, as do all of them… Before continuing in same grim tone. But shade does not move in further, does not attempt to consume any. It is filled with something else. Recollections. Memories. Memories of The Knight. Memories of Ghost. The vessels did have memories. But they did not have a soul. They were but a vessel to carry it. They could not think or feel.

_Elderbug clutched the flower they were given tightly. He looked like tears were welling up in his eyes as gift was given to him by the curious silent traveler who listened so closely to his every word…_

_Sly was bowing to the newest and last nailmaster he would ever be granting the title to… For all his pupils now could teach the new generation. It filled him with pride that they all could do it, even if separated, and that he lived to see it… And such wondrous coincidence that it was very person who saved him from light in his head in that cursed village…_

_Cornifer was ecstatic to see someone truly passionate about exploring ancient ruins… Sharing the map they drew themselves, crudely, with barely any markings or signifiers, but exploring areas he would never dare venture to… And unlike him, not even asking for a single piece of geo, it made him ashamed in a way… But also proud as he realized linework was on top of his own…_

_Iselda returned to copying maps onto new parchments… The small traveler, one both her and her husband met a lot was the little company she could get in the shop, and it made her appreciate the shopkeeper’s life a lot more…_

_Jiji was just having a meal, yet another to try and sate the gnawing hunger after long hibernation… Weird creature had weird ways to deal with representation of its regrets, but this time they didn’t even asked for it… They just gave them several eggs for no services at all… Perhaps they did have more regrets, just not the kinds Confessor could help with…_

** _Nor Beast_ **

_Quirrel sat at the sandy shore of the Blue Lake. The short friend has left and he had to wonder what he would do next. Tiny one still had a purpose to fulfill, but he? He fulfilled his. And yet… Visiting him was not part of its purpose. Would he perhaps be able to find another one? Unlike it, he would actually have a chance… Looking at his nail, he nods to himself as he leaves the beach, leaving it behind… Perhaps he really shouldn’t give up…_

_Nailsmith and Sheo were glad to have another join their session. Little warrior, as much as they came to both for their combat skills, they seemed perfectly willing to at least try their hand at something new. Both nailsmith and nailmaster invited it to stay after, but it just stood up and silently strode off, as they come to expect, only leaving behind surprisingly accurate figurine of the fifth knight… Neither could remember his name still…_

_Bretta was leaving Dirtmouth behind. She relied on others her whole life, dreamed of not having to live her own life and rather live through someone else’s… But she was truly grateful to her heroes. Both of them. White Saviour, for saving her and bringing her home… And Grey Prince for showing her the harsh truth of life… She would have to be more than damsel dreaming of saving, and she couldn’t find that new purpose where she was…_

_Old Stag was still at the Storerooms station… Though not in his readied pose. Only one of travelers used the stagways, and it was one who opened them. Showed him the way to the nest… And gave him hope. Staglets escaped… To where? That’s what stags were for, stagways and transporting people… But perhaps they would find a different life. And maybe, once traveler he is so grateful to fulfills, maybe he could find a new purpose as well…_

** _Nor God_ **

_Grimmchild grew restless. Nightmare Heart within them was content with all the flames of Hallownest, and ritual completed, and would be for a while, but the young bug was not as easily sated. They were feeling a disturbance, and being left out in the Junk Pit made them only more annoyed with their foster… They felt them. They knew they entered the dreams of strange masked bug, and they couldn’t feel them… But now they did. Even through the dreams. They didn’t know how or why… But they decided to stay safe. Flying to high platform, nesting as they watched the weird bug twitch and spasm… Whatever was happening within it, was beyond what the young mind could understand. They just hoped their caretaker would return the way they always do._

_White Lady had little left in terms of ways to perceive world. All the bindings she inflicted to safeguard Hallownest also limited her vision, hearing… But her roots and mind were as keen as ever… And she could feel it. Her spawn, Wyrm’s spawn, Void’s spawn. Up against the infection, until… It was gone. All of it. Infection. Wyrm. Even Her. Only Void remained in that far place where she just felt it. It was worrying… But infection fading away could only mean one thing. Vessel succeeded. Wyrm’s greatest sacrifice was not for naught. Was it worth it? Only history will be able to say… But the purpose was achieved. Though even she couldn’t deny that as glad as she is that the people of kingdom are safe… She felt sorry for what happened to what in the end still was her spawn…_

_Hornet stood guard over Black Egg Temple. Infection was spreading, Crossroads infected beyond just minds of bugs and critters… beyond their bodies even. All seals were broken, and now only thing holding it back were Pale King’s chains, which wouldn’t hold what was meant to be Radiance’s prison, Hollow Knight, for much longer. Until suddenly… World felt a little darker. Gripping her nail tighter, she looked around. Was the Ghost too late? Did the infection break free at last? She was the protector. Even if she stood no chance against Hollow Knight or the entity within it, she would fight. But as she prepared for something to exit the temple… nothing did. And the orange glow, the infected vines… They all were fading. Darkening. Dying. Hornet peered into the temple, but deep darkness revealed nothing. Ghost could not have slipped inside without her notice. So what happened..?_

** _Void Given Soul_ **

Lord of Shades pulled back. It… No. They. They felt it. They truly were no longer hollow. They weren’t the Pure Vessel that Hollow Knight was meant to be and wasn’t, they were but they lost that along their way to break the seals. An idea instilled… Attachment to the King is what made Hollow Knight fail. But they weren’t attached to one being… In some small, very minor way… Everyone along their way through Hallownest… They felt their appreciation, attachment to those bugs… And they couldn’t just flood the whole world with darkness, knowing what it would mean… The Void Given Focus but without purpose would destroy them all… But perhaps Void Given Soul… could spare them all the grim fate. Slowly the darkness receded from Godhome. Lord of Shade… pulled back its void and receded. The lights of Godseeker’s mind returned, although glowing white waters were now dark as void itself. They attuned to new God of Gods and would worship them as such. Lord of Shade did not care much. It felt the void within Abyss, stirring and ready to fill the world above, from that surge of power earlier… And with a will they calmed it. Hallownest shall live on…

Vessels do not have a name. God of Gods is the name Godseekers gave to them, but it was not what they truly were. Lord of Shade is what purposeless Void called the being that finally gave it purpose. But purpose was lost yet again… Even if it all was still united under one will. It was now will beyond purpose. It was will of feelings, however numbed they were by the nature… And that will had decided that it would need a name. Many names were they called along their journey, but one stuck out more than the others. The Knight, in its ascended form in charge of all the void as Lord of Shade, attuned to Godseekers as God of Gods… would be calling themselves Ghost. At least in their own mind. And with that they knew… That they truly are no longer hollow, and would never be. And for once, purpose not being achieved was not creating numb stinging of what could be called frustration… But warmth of happiness. Something Ghost never knew they could feel.


	2. Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two weeks have passed since Infection mysteriously disappeared.
> 
> Hollow Knight, still consumed by regret and self-deprecation is approached by someone familiar...

_Father…_

_He was there. Standing a good distance from them, but still looking directly at their spawn. Father did not talk much. But still, he had the ways to convey all that needed to be said in small ways. And the subtle nod he had just given meant one clear thing to them. It is time._

_Raising their head, Hollow Knight began the ritual. Focusing firmly on the light. Black Egg Temple, the structure devoid of any light, other than Father’s, was perfect for finding the smallest beams of the infection, its infinite desire to spread itself to every mind being its undoing._

_They would make Father proud…_

_They felt it. The light started to shine within them. And it started to enter them. Great void within, true hollowness of a Pure Vessel, that is what they were created for. That is what Father made, chose, raised and groomed them for. To contain the infection. They were empty. No true mind, no own will. Infection would be contained fully with nothing being there to control… To manipulate._

_They looked down on the white figure. This could be last time they see him. They couldn’t care less. All their life Father cared for them, and now it was their turn to fulfill their duty._

_The light kept entering through dark body and empty eyesockets… But unlike the common bug, it would never truly fill them just to spill out further. For in this vessel there was nothing to fill. The chains started flaring to life all around them, extra measures of protection to both the kingdom and The Hollow Knight themselves. Father raised a hand, as if reaching out to them… And they couldn’t help but move their own slightly, to reach back, the image of the Father imprinted so firmly in their mind…_

_No cost too great for Him…_

_Raised above the ground The Pure Vessel hung chained up as last of light seemed to enter their body… Chains glowed bright white as Pale King cast the great Seal of Binding upon them. But. Something was off. They felt different. Figure of Father was approaching. And Hollow Knight welcomed it. Father… The person they lived for, reaching out even now… They reached out their unchained hand at the pale light…_

_And Father was swallowed up in brightness… Fading off, disappearing as Hollow Knight’s fault was clear. They failed. The infection, The Radiance has consumed them, tricked them with vision of Father… But that thought lasted mere moments, before the eternal visage of Father reaching out to them, kindness in his own dark eyes overtook Hollow Knight’s world… Father was proud… They did everything they needed… Father… Was proud… Father…_

*******

With a jerk, a masked head moved from its dipped position to look forward. Hollow was… asleep again. And now they woke up. This was not right… Vessels did not need sleep. Rest was of good use, to mend injuries and recover lost energy, but not sleep. Mindless creatures need no sleep. Another folly to add to list of ones Hollow had collected. They never slept before they contained Radiance (_failed Father_), but now it seemed to come on its own whenever they rested for too long. Collecting the last memory before the dream overtook them… Right… They were still there. Palace Grounds. They went there the moment Black Egg collapsed, past Gendered Sibling… And there was nothing here still. Not when they first arrived and not for two weeks following… Nothing but a ruined archway of an entrance, and a discarded set of construct armor.

Hollow shifted, its body still feeling the weakness from Corruption. They spent a lot of time here, resting on the stones and watching place where Father’s Palace once had been, hoping that maybe there is more… Time they spent not resting they wandered around, even tried digging at one point, but pain of exhaustion (_real essels don’t feel pain_) overtook them. Slowly, they stood up. It was not easy, in no small part due to only having one arm. A scar of their failure. Only some hardened boils where an arm would normally be. One wound they could not regenerate no matter how many times they tried. Instinctively reaching with other arm, grasping at where the right one should be but just isn’t, they dip their head again.

“You’re awake. Does it still hurt?”, voice calls out, echoing in otherwise empty cavern.

Stumbling in place in surprise, Hollow frantically looks around for the source of the voice… Before thinking to look down and there they see her. Gendered Sibling. She visited them a few times since they arrived here, but the vessel never truly listened to her. Though last visit was quite a time ago… Time was hard to tell, but it had to be over a week since last one. And previous two being both in week before, made it clear that whatever she was trying to accomplish, she has given up. Or put off till now.

She tilts her head at them. Suddenly realizing that Hollow has still not answered the question, they quickly give a nod… But then a shake. It hurt… But it wasn’t just the arm. Their whole body was still struggling to maintain itself, despite its void nature. Gendered Sibling seems to be taken aback for a moment before letting out a sigh.

“Well, at least you’re reacting now…”, she mutters. Have they not been reacting previous times? They were sure they acknowledged her even if not focused on what she had to say at all in their barrage of personal thoughts… But perhaps even that acknowledgement never left their head till now. “If it does still hurt, it will just get worse without help.”, she takes a step closer. “Will you come with me this time?”

This time? Is this what she came to them for before? Asking them to leave? But… They looked at the archway. Palace was gone. They came here hoping to find Father, but he was not here. And they couldn’t feel him either. They could always feel him (_before their failure_). But now where his presence, even if at times physically distant, used to be there is emptiness. It felt impossible. It was Father. He could not have disappeared. He could not have left no trace like that… Father wasn’t a common bug…

“So you want to wallow in memories of this old ruin, and crumble along with it?”, Gendered Sibling says, making Hollow turn their gaze back at her, taking half a step back at harshness of her words. “If you wish to crumble and be forgotten like this cursed place, it’s your choice. This is the last time I’m offering my help to you, sibling. I do not have time to convince you to leave. So all I will do is offer.”

And with that she begins walking away… Taking some steps in direction of exit before stopping and turning around, looking at them expectantly. Leave with her? But then what? Father… Could he truly be gone? And if he was… Was it because… (_of their failure_)? What did they even have anymore? The purpose of their creation was no more, with Radiance disappearing without a trace. The self-given purpose of serving the Father has failed as well, for Father was no more. The only reason they were still there, at this old ruin, was because they didn’t think to move anywhere else after failing to find Him. What else was there? They only knew two lives. Life of a vessel, destined to contain the infection and save Hallownest through act of sacrifice. And life of a child to Father, cared for in distant, yet still clear ways, given love in a unique way no other bug or creature ever received from him. (_And in both lives they ended up being a disappointment._)

Hollow Knight fell to their knees, head dipped down. What they existed for was gone. Whom they existed for was gone.

(_They were not needed anymore._)

But if so… Then why did Gendered Sibling ask them to follow? Pity? And yet, however little they knew of her, it was clear she’s not the kind to let such thing get in her way.

(_Unlike them._)

And yet… Something stirred within Hollow. As they looked at the Gendered Sibling, they felt. They didn’t have to be discarded as yet another failure anymore… Because however horrid they were. Success is there. Radiance is defeated. And even though they void within them has no purpose anymore, it also refuses to rest.

(_Father would be mortified._)

And yet Father was the reason they were like this. Yes. They remembered. The first time it happened was in the old days, when they were at the palace. He looked at them and for the first time they saw kindness in usually neutral eyes of the monarch. And that is the first time… They felt. And right now they were feeling same thing. The way Gendered Sibling was looking back at them, it was not pity, and not expectation of greatness either. It was expectation of them to act on their own… Like they did when they first stepped inside Black Egg Temple. They were made for that purpose, but that wasn’t true reason they did it. At that point it was a different reason. To make Father proud. And now with Father gone, they did not want to fade away, just like he did, just like his palace did. They wanted to cherish the memory of him, and while they may not have a true purpose anymore. Maybe Gendered Sibling has one in mind with her expectant look.

(_Failu-_)

Shakily, Hollow Knight starting to rise. It was not pain of shell that made it hard to move this time. It was pain of knowing that they are leaving behind the idea instilled. They failed to make Father proud in way he planned for. But maybe… They can still do something else in his kingdom. To make up for their failure.

(_Usel-_)

Hollow pushed aside the empty regrets, and raised their head to look forward. Gendered Sibling still stood, looking back at them with a sense of curiosity… But moments later she stopped and started moving forward. Away from Hollow, away from broken castle. And with that, they made their choice. Fully rising up, they adjusted their cloak and greatnail on their back, beginning to slowly take steps after the red-cloaked figure. She looked back again, this time without stopping, but did not say anything and only gave Hollow a nod. Was it approval? Or just acknowledgement? It was hard to tell. But regardless. For now, their purpose was to follow their sister. To find some cure for pain resonating through all of their shell still, one that did not go away with any amount of focus. And maybe, a cure for pain that extended beyond one’s body, one even more alien to Hollow in its nature, and yet stinging so much clearer than bodily one.

***

Path to a new purpose started off surprisingly difficult and in ways neither of them could predict.

“How did you get down there again?”, Gendered Sibling asked, staring up the giant shaft that once was elevator from the capital to Ancient Basin. The wrecked remains of the elevator cage itself on the ground and shaft itself still filled with abandoned supporting structures for the repairs that never came.

Hollow could only offer a shrug. Indeed, memories of their rush to the castle the moment they were freed were hazy… A lot of running, some big falls, but no recollection of challenges this complex. Of course this time they didn’t have to fall, but jump and climb. Which, with a missing arm and in their weakened state, would be even more complex than it already is. And Gendered Sibling seemed to understand that pretty well.

“Wait here. I will see if I can activate the pull mechanism for elevator. You will at least be able to hold onto the rope, right?”, she asked while looking far up, before turning head to Hollow.

They only nodded in response. Climbing was one thing, but holding on was something else entirely. Gendered Sibling wasted no words and launched their needle up, zipping away moments later. All they could see was the red blur flying between platforms and walls until she was too high to see, leaving Hollow to wait. Unsure of how long it will take; they sit down on a pile of rubble in the corner. Sibling could not possibly have that much rope immediately on her, and while string of her needle looked strong and carried her easily, it was doubtful that it would handle someone as big as Hollow Knight. Even steel chains broke under their weight once infection was gone and seals of binding faded away.

Reminiscing into time they spent inside Black Egg did not last long however, as suddenly a long rope fell from far above and coiled on the ground a few times, other end still being attached somewhere above. Quickly approaching it, Hollow grasped it with their only arm, and pressed it between their legs, before giving it a few firm tugs. Then a loud screech came from above as rusty machinery came to life, starting to pull the rope up between the remnants of scaffolding. Hollow would lie if they said holding onto it was really easy… back in their prime they’d probably be able to simply climb up the shaft with a few jumps. Now just hanging in it was making their shell ache even further. But the feeling of ascension eventually halted, as did sounds of machinery. Looking forward, there was the boarding platform for elevator, a small distance away, with Gendered Sibling looking at them uncertainly.

“Do you need help getting over-”, she began, but got interrupted, Hollow pushing their weight and swinging on the rope hanging off of old pulling system on the ceiling, before letting go of it and leaping towards the platform and landing with a rumbling thud. They may have been weakened, but not entirely helpless. Sibling seemed satisfied with that and nodded, before turning around again and beckoning to follow further up and into the Capital itself, the great City of Tears.

First thing Hollow feels once they step outside elevator station and into the city itself is wetness. The never-ending rain from Blue Lake was still going strong, even after all these years… They quietly wandered if the Lake itself has diminished because of it since as they were following through the streets. But second thing they noted about the city was how silent it felt. Other than clattering of rain on the rooftops and paving, there were no sounds, except footsteps made by the two themselves. City felt completely devoid of life. But infection was gone, was it not? What happened to it?

Sibling suddenly took a turn and entered through an archway and into a house, beckoning Hollow to follow again.

“Bend over and you’ll fit through. If we take time to walk around every house, getting out of the city will take forever”, she said to them, and they nodded, falling on all… three as they crawled into the house, designed for bugs not of smallest stature, but definitely not ones as towering as Hollow. And as they crawled through it, answer to their earlier question came. They were crawling between bodies, most looking rather fresh. They did not even realize that they stopped moving as they were looking between the bugs. They all still looked well-dressed and most even had those ‘wigs’ they wore instead of hats.

“Don’t dawdle!”, came a shout from outside. There was a door on the other end… Was this a shop? Seemed like it. Ignoring lifeless husks of Hallownest citizens, Hollow finished the crawl, just barely fitting their horned head through an even smaller passage on the other end, finally standing back up straight as they were outside again, following close behind Sibling. Looking around more closely, they saw something that definitely was there earlier, just not as clearly. Streets, too, were littered with corpses, though most were washed away into the ditches and corners by the constant flow of water.

“Infection is gone… But those in whom it went beyond mind and affected the body did not survive the release. There were few lucky enough to never mutate, or to have been affected recently enough… But you won’t see any of them here.”, she explains in somber tone. Hollow couldn’t help but grab at the stump of their missing arm again, boils once filled with bright glow of infection now hardened shell. They survived… But their body of void had no anatomy. No intricacies. Of course they would live. But regular bugs… Had organs, all vital. Even one being changed by infection and then purged away would mean death.

“We are going to Greenpath. My hideout used to be there… My home now I suppose. Although I doubt it’s for much longer”, Sibling spoke again, trying to keep up the conversation, but noticing Hollow tilt their head at that last part she just shook her own quickly. “I can examine your wounds more closely there. And once you are in better condition… We will think about what happens next”, she added, stepping into the large cargo elevator. Hollow followed in as the two were raised way up, the heavy machinery springing to life yet again.

The rest of the way, both through humid air of Fungal Wastes, and natural freshness of Greenpath being uneventful and silent. Hallownest felt like it was completely deserted. But perhaps this was a good thing. Hollow remembered one of Father’s greatest rules. Their existence was a secret only few were allowed to know about. One of those people was “Gendered Child”, as Father called them, though Hollow has taken to calling her Gendered Sibling in their own head. But what of people that didn’t know? Will they have to keep staying hidden away from world? These were the thoughts they had as they approached an entrance well disguised as just another one of Greenpath’s moss-covered cliffs, but in reality a cave, with the inside being furnished cozily, if with… overuse of strings. Sibling pointed at the large pile of moss and leaves, in clearly one of less used corners of the hideaway… Was she preparing for them?

“Lie down and get some rest. I’ve seen how you started stumbling as we were close. You’re worse off than I thought if that little trek has gotten you exhausted”, she says in manner that makes Hollow remember Father’s stern tone after their training sessions… Which also made them all the more aware of how really tired they were. Sleep was still a novelty, but it did not matter much. They would get the rest, and whether it will come with sleep or not did not matter to Hollow Knight as they laid down onto the pile of soft greenery… And lost the sight reality only a few moments after, as their mind drifts into the dream realm, though in manner so much more peaceful than one earlier that day. Dark and formless…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A slight shift in perspective and time moment since first chamber, but I do plan to return back to Ghost soon. Just felt that it was important to give other key characters a personal spotlight of their own before any real interaction can begin. As before, the feedback is still welcome.


	3. Seeking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hornet tries to find solution to a problem. Hollow sleeps peacefully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I am really sorry to all people who got really interested for disappearing for such a long time. Having both time and writing motivation was hard over past two months, but I feel more ready to get into writing this again. I am not making any specific promises just yet, but I will try to maintain at least some form of schedule with writing (if not maybe releasing) the chapters. I do want to see this through to an end. Thanks for all those who actually bore with me!

Hornet was having the worst two weeks of her life.

Of course, this was an exaggeration. She definitely had many much rougher moments in her long life. Having spent almost all her time since her training got finished fighting and desperately searching for answer to saving Hallownest. Friends made and lost, attempts made and failed… Even earning herself a title. “Protector of Hallownest”. In the end, all the struggles seemed to have not been for nothing. Infection was gone. _Gone._ There was no traces of it left anywhere, in bugs or pants. All that was infected has either died due to infection being only thing keeping it alive or just released from its grasp if it was lucky enough not to have gone so far. This was what she dreamed of.

And yet… She probably had hardest time now, in time of peace. She no longer had to fight. But her body was constantly ready for it. She no longer had to stay on guard. And yet still, even slightest rustle catches her attention. She was not used to this. And won’t be for quite some time. Worst of all… Were the people. Looking up to her to lead. She still cursed herself for letting truth of her heritage slip to probably worst bug of Hallownest it could slip to… And now both Deepnest and Hallownest were looking at her to be the new Queen. At least here, at her far-off home, she would be safe from all the problems…

As she heard rustling from behind, Hornet made a sharp turn… Only finding Hollow having turned over to a side in their sleep. She lets out a sigh, trying to make tension within her go away. Right. Almost all problems. But at least this one she actually wants to deal with. Somewhat. Turning back to the makeshift table she returns to separating shell and meat from the vengeflies she had hunted down earlier. Even hunting came too easy now… With no risk of the meat being infected, there was no need to venture in search of unaffected critters.

Hornet’s mind started drifting again… Infection. What happened to it? Did it truly just… disappear? The whole situation surrounding it was mysterious and enigmatic. On one hand, there is absolutely no way it could have just stopped. But on the other… There is no other explanation. It had to have just disappeared. The plague would never just stop and pull itself back, and clearly no one intervened with The Hollow Knight or the Black Egg as she’d been standing guard over it waiting for the Little Ghost…

…Little Ghost. Their mystery was just as great as infection’s. The weird vessel was going rounds around Hallownest… Seeking ways to get stronger, no doubt. And eventually their quest would lead them back to Black Egg Temple. Or so she thought. But instead, they themselves disappeared along with infection. She was sure of it, as she scoured Hallownest from Howling Peaks to Ancient Basin… And they weren’t anywhere. Unlike Hornet herself, they never attempted to conceal their presence or use hidden paths. Tracking them down wouldn’t be too hard and yet… Of course, there was one place even Hornet dared not venture to in order to verify. The Abyss. It was way too dangerous for any bug to be there. But Ghost of Hallownest was not any bug. They were a vessel bearing King’s Brand.

Throwing meat and some greenery into the water-filled pot, Hornet moved her stew over to the small fire pit in the hideout, putting it over the flames. The food was on the way. Next thing was… Right. Injuries. She didn’t want to actually touch or apply anything to those just yet, Hollow needed their rest. But she could at least try to examine them and think of potential treatments… If there even were any to the state they were in.

Hornet let out a sigh, approaching the slumbering vessel and lowering herself to the knees, taking a closer look at the injuries… She could only see two, but both were way too glaring to ignore. She knew vessels could regenerate to impossible extents due to their void nature. She saw it with Little Ghost’s injuries. But this… The arm in its entirety was just replaced by what looked like hardened boils at its base. Was Hollow really unable to regenerate it? Was it because this damage was caused by infection or something else? And then there was the crack in their mask. Despite downright crippling state of missing arm, that crack seemed even more dangerous. Hornet knew little of Vessels, but their masks were what held them together. They directed the void within them, gave it shape similar to one of a bug’s. And if Hollow’s mask was at risk of shattering… That would mean their demise.

Quickly shaking her head, Hornet stood up, walking towards the exit. She was deluding herself and deceiving Hollow when she said she could treat their injuries. She knew nothing of void creatures of vessels that would help. She knew of some people that could answer her questions… But idea of having to interact with either one of Monomon’s underlings or one of those deceitful shamans did not sound appealing in the slightest.

After thinking it over for a few moments, Hornet made a decision. Shuffling the old wood under the pot to make the flame low and slow, she left the hideout. Perhaps her mistake could still be used to advantage. If rumor really did spread as fast as it seemed, perhaps the surviving remnant of Monomon’s helpers would be more open-minded to her than the Teacher herself was back in the day.

Looking back at the entrance to the hideout, Hornet shifted the mossy cover, hiding it from plain sight and launched her needle forward, zipping off through Greenpath’s shrubbery. If Hollow didn’t rest for as long as she thought, she’d be back before they’re awake.

***

Darkness. Emptiness. Void.

It was there, all around them. Enveloping them. But not consuming. Cradling would be the closest word bugs have for sensation they were experiencing right now. This was alien to them. The short time they were free, dreams have become associated with painful memories and stabbing regret. But now, for first time, they went into slumber and were met with familiarity and serenity.

Hollow had no body, not truly being in form of a vessel… Normally, that is a demise for one such as them, but in the dream realm, that is their true form. Unlike before, when they were still bound to their mask in last memory of the Father. Was this… freedom? Perhaps. They did not wish to think. Mind, too clouded for that, just drifted across the dark expanse surrounding their own shadowy form…

However very slowly but surely, Hollow started to come to realization. If this is truly Void, and they’re truly unbound… Why does it not feel like one with them? Why do they not feel like a small part of a bigger whole? Is there still something separating them from the Void, even in their dreams? Hollow tries to shake it off and begins to try and focus their tired thinking towards recognizing and understanding the presence of ‘alien’ Void. Reaching out their ‘hand’ into it and… watching it lightly recoil. This was not Void. Whatever it was… it reacted.

Finally, Hollow’s mind begins to slowly clear up, them properly looking around until they finally see it. Its very far above them, no wonder they did not see it in idle drift. But titanic eyes of white, akin to their own, are staring from far above… Each larger than Hollow’s whole form combined. And that empty darkness surrounding them, under them, everywhere… Was not the Void. It was that creature. It enveloped entirety of their dream… And Hollow couldn’t do anything but to try and float away from edges of the unknowable monstrosity. It was a voidborn creature, no doubt about it… But of this extent? Was it just a new nightmare plaguing them? Was slumber being suffering still not over?

The darkness seemed to waver. It didn’t try to pursue the floating form, and recoiled even further. The eyes on form that only barely can be made out as a head with its wavering shape seem to slowly blink, before entirety of the thing lowers down, to around same level as Hollow themselves. Vessel does not recoil any further, practically frozen in place from the horror before them…

And then alien void pulls back for a moment. Hollow feels a slight relief before realizing that above them a huge shape formed from the darkness, resembling an arm, holding what seemed to be a huge white pillar… and lowering it in front of the vessel, letting go of it as it remains floating similar to Hollow themselves, in front of it. The arm dissipates and the glowing eyes are unmoving in their concentration upon the vessel… Anticipating something.

As the world around them finally comes to calm stillness once again, even if with looming sense of danger from the unknowable being, they try to focus on it, garner some of its intent. And to their own surprise, despite overwhelming amount of horror at the existence of such a creature… There is no hostility from it. Hollow looks over beautiful ornate pillar, standing out in darkness so sorely, so brightly. And they slowly reach out to touch it… But the moment they do, the world is enveloped in white. They try to pull their own hand back from the weird object, but don’t feel like they can, as their mind races off elsewhere.

The last thing Hollow remembers before awakening is etched in their memory rather firmly though: holding what feels like a hilt of a blade.

***

Soft humming was one of few things heard in misty hallways of Teacher’s Archive. As one would traverse through the foggy hallways, past the empty skins of Teacher’s creations, once her assistants, later corrupted same as any other creature, and now dead and hollow, one would get closer to source of humming. Past it and mix of bubbling acids and flowing liquid, one would begin to hear another sound slowly appearing. Scribbling and inscribing of someone’s writing. Until finally the room where sound comes from is entered.

“Oh! My apologies, Queen, I had no idea you were coming. I was just in the middle of transcribing some of archiv—“

“Stop it. It’s not like this visit is planned or official anyway”, Hornet sharply cut off, looking at Quirrel surrounded by journals in front of mystic tablet upon which there was endless stream of words. “I am only here because I need information.”

She chose not to remark on way he addressed her. It was a big mistake to reveal the truth to anyone, but one misguided choice led to most (if not yet all) of Hallownest’s remnants recognizing her as new Queen. While she did give herself responsibility of protecting the ruins, she did not want the rulership or, worst of all, recognition as heir of Pale King. And yet…

“Well, then I suppose there is no better place, my Queen!”, Quirrel eagerly trilled as he quickly tucked the stone journals aside and into the pile, dusting himself off. Hornet just barely resisted a wince at the title, “I’ve been hard at work trying to make proper sense of Madam’s writings. But it seems time and corruption wore down on their state… She always was criptic, but this is beyond even that…”

“Were there any writings or documentation on creatures called…”, Hornet hesitated, double guessing her next words. One slip-up and she may have problem as big as her newfound Queenship to deal with, should Monomon’s follower be too curious, “…vessels?”

“Vessels..?”, Quirrel tilted his head with a blink for a few moments before clapping his hands, “Ah! Absence Shells!”, he suddenly yelps to no one in particular as he digs into pile of his writings, taking the chisel and adjusting something in one of his fresh journals, “That might be the word I’ve been looking for! Even beyond loss of coherency from the time couldn’t explain such cryptic language! It was like she was trying to make sure anyone but her would have hard time reading it!”, Quirrel rambles as he seemed to have hit a small eureka moment, “It appears this particular tablet describes some sort of Void magic… Creating things from it. But that’s most I could decipher, with how cryptic Madam was. Though with word ‘vessel’… I suppose its slightly less cryptic.”

“Does it say anything about…”, Hornet considered her next word for a moment, “…maintenance of them, for example?”

“Well, even if there is, I did not realize so yet. There is definitely a description of creation process and of its purpose… But I can’t quite see what either of those actually are”, Quirrel finishes etching out his corrections and puts journal back, “And other than in here, I don’t remember anything mentioning similar topics, so…”

“It’s alright,” Hornet stopped the scribe before he started apologizing, “Still more than I expected.” No it wasn’t. Hard to believe Monomon with her obsessive nosiness over any form of knowledge didn’t record any specific details of King’s experiments. Its much more likely that the scholar simply haven’t gotten his progress to that part. And even if he eventually did, she was looking for solution now. So might as well visit another potential-

“Well! I will make sure to try and send you a message should I find anything about such things! I also think I just got a fresh bout of inspiration for deciphering this one!”, Quirrel happily lowers himself and picks up a fresh writing stone, “Unless you wanted anything—“

But the Queen is already gone and he only sees last glimpse of her red cloak as she leaves the room.

“…else… I guess not”, he looks down on the stone, rubbing side of his head, “…vessels… Wonder what that was all about…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small note: I like the in-universe idea that bugs actually use stones as writing material as often as they do paper, so Quirrel is using that for his deciphering process. Just a very fun little bit of worldbuilding from the HK that made me like game's world that much.

**Author's Note:**

> A little postnote, but this is my first published written work. Advice is welcome, as well as suggestions on potential tags I may have missed.
> 
> [Story is currently frozen indefinitely. I may return to it one day, but for now it's on pause.]


End file.
